The present invention relates generally to the field of computed tomography scanning systems and more particularly to thermal management of such computed tomography scanning systems.
Generally, a computed tomography (CT) scanning system for acquiring and processing image data of an object of interest, for example, a human patient, includes a source of X-ray radiation, typically an X-ray tube. A rotational system, typically including a gantry fixedly attached to the X-ray source and the detector array enables them to rotate at least one full 360° turn around the human patient.
Operationally, the X-ray radiation source projects the X-ray beam towards the object being imaged and further towards a detector array made up of a plurality of detector assemblies. The detector assemblies detect the X-ray radiation after passing through or around the object, and subsequently convert this X-ray radiation to a plurality of electrical signals. Further, as the X-ray radiation source and the detector array secured to the gantry rotate, an integrated circuit array, for example, a data acquisition chip array having a plurality of integrated circuits, such as, data acquisition chips mounted on a printed circuit board of each detector assembly collect data corresponding to electrical signals representing attenuation of the incident X-ray radiation after passing through or around the object. During operation, thermal energy is generated by the data acquisition chips as they are powered, to complete their processing functions. A particular challenge in such systems then arises from the need to remove this thermal energy from the chips and reduce the temperature variation between separate chips or processing circuits to the extent possible.
Improved versions of CT scanning systems are generally adapted to accommodate wider coverage of the patient. Therefore, the width of the improved detector assemblies of such improved CT scanning systems is desirably larger compared to conventional CT scanning systems. Accordingly, those improved detector assemblies are more densely populated with data acquisition chips than conventional detector assemblies for generating substantially large number of pixels from those improved CT scanning systems to accommodate the wider patient coverage. Hence, the thermal load released from the data acquisition chips of those improved detector assemblies is significantly higher compared to the thermal load released from detector assemblies of conventional CT systems.
Generally, in conventional approaches, the thermal load released from the detector assemblies of conventional CT systems is mitigated via direct convective cooling systems, for example, an air circulating system that blows coolant, such as, air over the data acquisition chip array. It may be appreciated that, such conventional direct convective cooling systems are generally inefficient towards dissipating the substantial thermal load released from the improved detector assemblies, because uniform thermal energy dissipation from all of these data acquisition chips constructing the improved detector assemblies cannot be addressed by relying on those direct convective cooling systems. More particularly, the thermal energy dissipation rate from the data acquisition chips positioned downstream of the direct convective coolant flow path is much less compared to thermal energy dissipation rate of other data acquisition chips (i.e. data acquisition chips positioned upstream of the direct convective coolant flow path). This non-uniform thermal energy dissipation rate from the data acquisition chips poses substantial risk of generating localized thermal hot spots at various locations of the improved detector assemblies that may throw out of gear overall control on the thermal environment thereof.
Accordingly, there is a need in the related art for an improved thermal management system that efficiently implements a method for controlling thermal environment of such improved detector assemblies in order to address effective mitigation of the excess thermal load generated therefrom.